When operating a vehicle, it is often difficult to adequately view the areas adjacent the vehicle, especially the area behind the vehicle. This is especially problematic for the operators of larger vehicles such as pick-up trucks, sport utility vehicles (“SUVs”), tractor trailers and other large and/or raised vehicles. The dangers associated with inadequate visibility have become exasperated as the popularity of SUVs has resulted in the widespread operation of larger and raised vehicles by people who are ordinarily not accustomed to operating such vehicles.
In the past, people have attempted to ameliorate the lack of visibility by placing mirrors at various locations throughout the car. Mirrors have generally proven to be a reliable method of viewing an area behind the vehicle while in reverse. However, mirrors typically do not provide the vehicle operator with an unobstructed view of the area directly behind the vehicle.
Recently, cameras and sensors have become popular in order to detect the presence of objects (including people) behind the vehicle. While existing cameras and sensors have prevented many unfortunate events, problems still persist and accidents are still occurring. Moreover, the existence of such sensors and cameras is generally limited to factory installed systems that are typically only present on high-end vehicles. Thus, older and/or less expensive vehicles tend to not have such sensors and/or cameras.
While some cameras do exist for mounting onto a vehicle, these cameras suffer from a wide variety of deficiencies, including complexity of mounting and less than optimal performance. When mounting a camera on a vehicle, the placement and orientation of the camera are important. Improper mounting may result in the operator not being able to adequately view an object behind the vehicle until it is too late. Many cameras are unable to provide a proper viewing angle for the vehicle upon which it is mounted.
Additionally, cameras that are mounted on vehicles are exposed to the effects of the environment, such as changes in temperature, humidity, etc. These environmental effects can cause moisture to form on the lens thereby decreasing the effectiveness of the camera.